Nobody wants the username JohnSmith56953979724, right? Well, the way things are evolving in terms of our Internet-driven lives, and the way our global population is growing, that email address is looking like a serious possibility in the near future.
In the age of the Internet, there’s an even more desperate drive to choose
names that are unique, in order to secure interesting or exclusive online spaces. Whether it’s email addresses, domain names, Twitter handles or any other Internet property, a one-of-a-kind name is essential.
Culturally, there are a number of different rituals also attached to naming a child. But, one thing is common in almost all of these – the excitement of choosing the “perfect” name for children who, until they’re named, are known as “THE BABY” (or a variety of other names we’re all pretty familiar with!).
Every parent, from the moment those two little lines appear on that hastily procured pregnancy test, ponders the question of “but what shall we call THE BABY?” In the furious mania of choosing a name, expecting parents write lists, purchase books, consult
family trees, Google up a storm and – eventually – settle on “the name”.
I’m willing to bet that you pondered this question for weeks on end. My parents did. When I was a budding bump in my mother’s belly, my parents had numerous ideas of my name. My brother was determined to call me Lotta (It’s okay, I’ve forgiven him…) and my mom once told me that her and my dad settled on the “perfect” name for me – Gillian. But, as fate would have it – curtains changed their mind. Yes, curtains. In their efforts to decorate my nursery/bedroom, they came across a beautiful fabric, perfect for curtains. It was called Catherine. So they changed their minds and named me after curtains.
Tamarin Brunton, a Durban mom, named her daughter after her father. She said: “I wanted to name Charlie-Anne Chris after my dad (he died 3 years ago) originally but the lack of a winky and my dislike of all the longer names like Christine put an end to that. After lots of deliberating I went with Charlie-Anne, which is made up of my dad's second name and my mom's second name. It was just perfect!”
Tracey and Luke Preston took their
name-choosing to Twitter, one evening, before their son was born. They took votes on their choices, and eventually named their son Knox, who’d been called Bumpy throughout his gestation. Knox was named after the character of “Knox Overstreet” in Dead Poet’s Society.
How did you choose your children’s names?
Disclaimer: The views of columnists published on Parent24 are their own and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of Parent24.
